


And The Thunder Rolls

by SunlightOnTheWater



Series: Pathways [4]
Category: Supernatural, The Chronicles of Riddick (2004)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen, POV Riddick, Sam Winchester's Demonic Powers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-17
Updated: 2014-08-17
Packaged: 2018-02-13 04:46:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,850
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2137491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SunlightOnTheWater/pseuds/SunlightOnTheWater
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Trouble is brewing. He can feel it in his bones and he wants to be ready for it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	And The Thunder Rolls

_"I wasn't born with a lot of trust. Don't really need it in places I've been. Maybe that's why I've noticed it already. There's trouble brewing, thunder on the horizon. Outta be interestin'."_

* * *

He'd been in charge of the Necros for a month and a half and he could sense it. Like storm clouds on the horizon, the sense of animosity amongst his commanders was growing. He'd have to either find the source of the dissent or let it play out and kill them all. Either option was fine by him but the second would put Jack in danger. Her little shadow too but he wasn't so keen on making sure that kid survived. The kid was shattered glass held together by a thread and not half as good at surviving trouble as he was at attracting it. It spelled disaster for anyone around him. Had almost killed Jack a time or two already. Not that it mattered to her; she'd protect the kid up until she died from it.

Riddick made his way to the rooms, hesitating at the door. Jack was talking, her soft voice muffled through the thick metal that would, in a moment, slide easily out of his way. He couldn't hear a response but he could guess exactly who she was talking to; Sam. He entered the room and two heads snapped up. Jack's eyes brightened but Sam's head dropped almost immediately. "Evening," Jack chirped cheerfully. I studied her for a moment before turning my gaze to the kid. He shifted uncomfortably and then scrambled to his feet, mumbling something to Jack and darting out of the room. "Don't do that," Jack growled, eyes blazing.

"Do what?" Riddick replied coolly.

"Treat him like that."

"I'll treat him the way he deserves to be treated," Riddick said sharply. "He's goin' to get you killed Jackie." Jack set her mouth stubbornly, her expression saying she wasn't going to bend on this. Riddick snorted and let the subject go for the moment. He'd deal with the kid later. "The Necros are gettin' restless," he told Jack.

"They wouldn't be if you'd do what you're supposed to." Riddick glared flatly at her and she huffed.

"I want you to keep an ear to the ground and an eye out for trouble. And if the kid gets caught then don't go after 'im." Jack opened her mouth to protest but Riddick was already out the door.

* * *

_"I was so busy watchin' for trouble from the Necros that I let the kid's problem slip my mind. I should'a known better but the animal thought it wasn't a problem. Turns out, the animal was wrong."_

* * *

The throne room was always full on the ship, people coming in and out. Riddick hated it there, hated feeling like someone could sneak up on him at any moment. He doubted any of the dissenters would try anything in public, they weren't daring enough for that yet, but there was always a prickling feeling between his shoulder blades as if someone were waiting to sink a shiv in there. Jack often spent afternoons with him leaning against the throne and watching the goings on around them. Today she'd abandoned her customary spot, too irritated with him to stay. She was on the floor with Sam, she'd managed to coax the kid out of his rooms for only the second time since Riddick had taken over the position of Lord Marshall. He looked nervous, eyes darting about as if searching for danger he'd never spot in time.

The two of them made their way around the outskirts of the crowd, the kid flinching if anyone got too close. Jack was a protective shadow hovering over one shoulder, as if she could simply glare everyone to death who came too near to them. Some of the Necros paused to watch the kid curiously. Some of them had seen his little display last time and his panicky reaction. They were watching him, trying to decide how dangerous he'd be. He was their best bet to get to Riddick, at least in their minds. They had no idea that their new Lord Marshall would happily leave the kid to die.

One of the women stepped out from the crowd, hair long enough to be pulled up in a bun and then hang in a braid halfway down her back. Her smile was razor sharp and Sam shuddered as if it cut him. Next to him, Jack stiffened. She spoke, saying something Riddick was too far away to hear. Jack snarled at that and Sam hunched in on himself. Then the woman grabbed Jack by the throat and threw her hard. Jackie girl slid back across the floor, eyes wide and startled. Instantly the room hushed. "So this is how far you've fallen?" the woman asked, voice bright and sharp and mocking. "Hiding in the shadows trying not to be seen. You're supposed to be some much better than this." 

She turned her back on the kid then, studying the hall with nothing short of scorn. Jack struggled to her feet, eyes blazing, only to have the woman flick a hand at her and send her flying into a wall, pinning her there. Riddick stood, animal growling just underneath his skin. If Jack was hurt in this mess and the kid survived unscathed, Riddick would make the boy wish he had never been born. "Hiding around with this filth? _Pathetic_ ," she sneered.

"Leave her alone." The kid's voice was tired, resigned, but strong enough to carry in the hushed room.

"Oh Sammy, Sammy, Sammy," she cooed, her tone sickly sweet. "If we're ever going to get anywhere with you, we're going to have to cure you of that pesky loyalty." Then she turned her head to study the girl pinned to the wall and Jack began to choke. Riddick growled, the sounding rumbling in his chest and making the Necros nearest to him back away nervously. The woman didn't so much as twitch.

"Leave her alone Meg." This time the kid's voice was razor sharp. It snapped through the empty space between himself and the woman. He'd drawn himself upright and was no longer hiding behind his floppy brown hair. The woman, Meg, tilted her head back and laughed.

"Oh Sammy, you should know better than that," she said and Jack let out a panicked wheeze. "You don't control me." Sam flung his hand out then and Jack tumbled to the ground, Meg jolting slightly as if an invisible force had struck her. Her expression was dark and her eyes completely black, no white showing, when she turned to him. "Daddy said he wanted you alive," she hissed at him. "He didn't say he wanted you unharmed." Sam's face paled and Riddick waited for the kid to fold. Then Jack coughed and a little bit of bright red blood dribbled out of her mouth. Sam's whole body stiffened and Meg tilted her head, curious.

In the blink of an eye she was slammed into the nearest wall, body suddenly arcing with red and gold flashes of lightning. Sam stalked across the floor towards her, body stiff with fury. "What are you doing?" she hissed at him. "You can't do this."

"Can I?" the kid snarled back at her. "You know what I'm capable of Meg. You should know better."

"You'll scream for this," she snarled at him, showing teeth in a cornered animal's smile. "Scream and plead and writhe but no mercy will be given."

"You know what Meg," the kid snapped, showing her the same kind of smile. "Go. To. Hell." A bright flash flared through the body and eyes that were suddenly wide and blue flickered closed before the body toppled to the ground. Sam hunched in on himself then like a wounded animal in full view of waiting predators. Riddick was moving before he even realized what he was doing, nudging Sam towards Jack. The young woman was pulling herself to her feet, probably hurting but not really willing to show it. Her eyes were wide and worried and fixed directly on Sam. Like this, Riddick could see her eyes turn the same color brown they had once been. "It's okay," he told her, voice little more than a whisper. "It's okay. She's gone now and she's never coming back." Jack smiled at him weakly, swaying slightly on her feet.

"Yeah," she said, sounding as if she were trying to calm the rising hysteria in the kid's voice. "It's over now. Everything's going to be fine."

* * *

_"If anyone had asked me before about what would'a happened when Jack's life was threatened I would'a said the kid would fold like a wet piece of paper. Now the animal and I, we ain't too sure what to think about him."_

* * *

Jack and Sam slept that night curled up together. Riddick stood watch, knowing there would be whispers about what had happened. The kid hadn't wanted to talk after they'd made it back to their rooms and for once the con had heeded Jack's glance that insisted he keep his mouth shut. Instead he'd let Jack calm the kid down and checked her over for damage once Sam was asleep curled up right next to her on the couch that settled in the common room. Now he settled in a chair in a corner where he could watch the kids and the door. He was waiting for whatever delegation out of his commanders that would be sent to talk to him. They'd be spooked by what had happened, Riddick himself was confused about what he'd seen, and they'd want to get rid of the problem; Sam.

Before today, Riddick would have agreed with them more than happily. Now, after seeing what the kid was willing to do to protect Jack, he thought the better of it. Maybe the kid was a liability but after today it was possible he might not be a danger to anyone but himself. After the events of the day, Riddick was willing to give the kid a second chance.

Vaako was the unfortunate soul who'd been sent to speak to him. Riddick didn't trust the Necro commander, First among the commanders, any further than he could throw him but the man was good at his job. "The commanders, myself among them, want to know what happened," the Necro informed the con.

"You can tell 'em so would I but we're not gonna find out anything until the kid talks," Riddick replied casually. He decided a moment later that it was to the Necro's credit that he didn't mention that there were ways of making the kid talk.

"Commander Toal also wished for me to inform you that he has called a meeting of commanders in twelve hours," Vaako continued. "He request your presence there."

"Then my presence he will have," Riddick rumbled. "Though he may not want it when this mess is through." Vaako dipped his head once in acknowledgement and turned, leaving the room behind with the new Lord Marshall watching over two sleeping children.


End file.
